Parco Archeologico di Siponto

The archaeological park at ancient Siponto preserves remains of a Roman colony, an early Christian basilica and the medieval church of Santa Maria Maggiore. Beside the churches stands Edoardo Tresoldi’s openwork reconstruction of the lost early Christian basilica, made from metal mesh.

Why it matters

Siponto became a Roman colony in 194 BC and later an important port and diocesan centre. Its archaeological remains trace the settlement’s history from Roman and early Christian periods into the Middle Ages. The earthquakes of 1223 and 1255 contributed to the abandonment of the old settlement and the transfer of its population to the new town founded by Manfred.

What to notice

The early Christian basilica survives as an excavated three-aisled plan with mosaic floors from its fourth-century construction and fifth-century renovation. Nearby stands the Romanesque church of Santa Maria Maggiore, built around the turn of the twelfth century and reworked around 1200, with columns and capitals reused from ancient Siponto. Tresoldi’s 2016 installation, about fourteen metres high and made of welded metal mesh, evokes the volume of the earlier basilica beside the medieval church.

Context and history

The port and diocese made Siponto an important centre in the region. As the harbour silted and earthquakes damaged the settlement, people moved to the new town founded by Manfred in the later thirteenth century, later known as Sypontum Novellum. Santa Maria Maggiore remained as a church associated with the abandoned city. In 2016 the park received the Riccardo Francovich award; in 2018 the Tresoldi project received a special prize at the Triennale di Milano.